With a little help from my friends and family
by SharanMcQuack
Summary: The Duckberg Dam is about to burst and Magica DeSpell is trying to help it burst so she can rob the Money Bin of the Lucky dime!


**With a Little Help from My Friends- and Family.**

By Sharan McQuack, Launchpad's wife.

* * *

I admit to being obsessed about Launchpad. I also admit that Disney ain't going to listen to me. Sigh.

"What can I do? No one will listen to me!" as my much-beloved husband Launchpad once said.

( In "Mistaken Secret Identity" , which existed for no other reason than to remind Ducktales fans that Launchpad was NOT Gizmoduck. Never mind we already knew that. Never mind I didn't WANT Launchpad to be Gizmoduck. Never mind I liked Launchpad better ANYWAY.)

* * *

It was some time after Hurricane Zelda (1) had long left Duckburg. It was raining, hard. The mountains north of Duckburg had a lot of snow this winter and Duckburg was getting a lot of rain, now, in early spring. The Duckburg dam had been strained by the hurricane. It was overloaded and was dangerously near collapse.

Gizmoduck went to fix the dam, but he soon faced a problem. He did not have anything to fix it with and he could not fix it and hold it together at the same time.

"Great! Now what do I do, stay here like the Little Dutch Boy until I rust?" Giz said.

"Yo! Gizmoduck! I got a whole bunch of sandbags here! Where should I drop them so I don't hit you?" Launchpad called from a VTOL. (2)

"To the left and to the right of me! I'll put them in place!" Giz called back.

Launchpad dropped the sandbags and Gizmoduck put them in place, which kept the dam from collapsing. For the moment.

"This will never hold. The dam needs to be fixed properly, right away! There must be a good deal of runoff from melting snow, there is too much water here for rain alone to account for!" Giz said.

"You should know!" said Launchpad, and then regretted it.

"_ I gotta be careful about Giz's secret I.D.- if Mr. McD could say something in front of me, I could say something in front of somebody else." _Launchpad thought.

"Will it hold long enough for me to double back to Duckburg and pick up the right equipment?" Launchpad asked.

"Afraid not. It's going to give- soon." Giz said.

"I'll try radioing for pilots with the right equipment to come here." Launchpad said, who feared he might have to tell them to try and evacuate Duckburg, too.

"Did somebody ask for pilots with the right stuff?" said a VERY familiar voice, one that sounded like John Wayne.

"Father?" Launchpad said, astonished.

He did a polite double take. There were three VTOL in the area, besides his, each containing a family member.

"Mom? Sis? What are you doing here?" Launchpad asked them.

"Your wife, Sharan, contacted us. We were just finished doing an air show not far from Duckburg. Your boss, Scrooge McDuck gave us the stuff to fix the dam with and let us borrow these VTOLs." Ripcord said.

"Mr. McD GAVE you steel girders and ready-mix concrete and..." Launchpad sputtered.

"Of course he did! The MONEY BIN is right in the path of where all this water is going to go if the dam gives and this is Spring, not August, so we're talking about a LOT of water, here." Giz said.

"Oh. Duh." Launchpad said.

Then Launchpad saw a light plane, obliviously the press.

"Hi there, honey! I don't know how to fly a VTOL yet- heck, you only just got to qualify for my commercial pilot's license, so I'm flying the camera people from the Duckburg Daily News and it's TV affiliate. I do my best to stay out of your way." I said.

So while Ripcord, Birdie and Loopy were lowering girders into place, Launchpad was on the radio. Then he went to where a nearby mountain road had been blocked by an avalanche caused by snowmelt. Boulders and small trees blocked passage of the road. Launchpad eyed the boulders until he found the capstone, the boulder that held the rest in place. (3)

Launchpad used a large, long tree limb as a level to move the boulder and roll it a short distance. Then he ran like fun. For a minute, nothing happened.

Then the rocks and tress came crashing down and rolled off the road and onto a grassy meadow.

A traffic cop, who had been wondering what to do about this mess said "Thanks".

Launchpad asked if he could have some of the boulders and tree trunks.

The cop said, "Sure, you've earned them.

So Launchpad loaded some big rocks unto a dolly, then rolled the boulders unto the VTOL. Launchpad then sawed the trees into smaller trunks so they could be rolled unto the VTOL. Then he doubled back to the dam.

"Even Mr. McD can't think of everything! He didn't include boulders in the equipment he gave you and those girders will need something to hold them in place until the cement dries! I also got a bunch of tree trunks for good measure!" Launchpad said.

"Good work, son- these girders are too long to use for across support beams, but those tree trunks are just the right size!" Ripcord said, as Launchpad lowered his supplies.

As I was helping the TV camera people set up, I saw a helicopter from a rival network buzzing around.

Launchpad had promised to teach me how to fly one of those things next and I wasn't sure I could do it. But I didn't think I could learn to fly a plane, either- especially not well enough to get a commercial pilot's license. Only my Launchpad is a born Teacher and he was so blamed patience with me and he made it so fun and interesting... I was qualifying as a commercial pilot almost before I knew it.

I heard yelling from the copter. People were arguing about if it was a good idea to get closer to the action or not. Somebody had to be yelling awfully loud to be heard over the copter's motor... I laughed.

"What is this, old home week?" I asked. The copter was piloted by Donald Duck.

Then came a most unwelcome addition to "old home week" : Magica DeSpell.(4) She had, by magic undoubtly, found out about these goings-on and naturally wanted the dam to collapse so she could get her greedy little hands on the Lucky Dime.

Magica was flying around on her broomstick like any Wicked Old Witch.

Upon seeing Magica, Donald naturally tried to get the helicopter someplace safer. Like anyplace Magica wasn't. Launchpad got into the VTOL and started buzzing Magica so Donald could escape. But Donald could NOT resist screaming at Magica.

"I recognize that temper- you're related to Scrooge McDuck, aren't you?" Magica asked.

"I'm his nephew!" Donald said, proudly.(5)

"What did he say?" Magica asked.

"He's Mr. McD's nephew- and I suggest you leave him alone! You made a mistake this time, Magica- you're taking me on MY element- the Sky! And this time, I have no passengers whose safety I have to worry about about!" Launchpad said.

"Maybe not- but you have nephew, here, to worry about." Magica sneered.

"And you have your broomstick to worry about." Launchpad said.  
And Launchpad flew close enough to her for the VTOL's engines to set it on fire- IF it was made of wood. It wasn't. (6)

"Fool! This is a aluminum-alloy broomstick. It's made of the same metal they make planes out of, only coated to LOOK like wood. The "broomstraws" are made of aluminum-alloy wire. Even we witches must keep up with the times. You can't set it on fire." Magica said.

" Then let me try something else." Launchpad said and he pressed a button on the VTOL.

Since Launchpad is a commercial pilot, not a military one, he is NOT allowed to arm his planes. Launchpad also often gets into trouble, and NOT being stupid, he puts a few surprises that AREN'T considered weapons into his planes. Said button activated one such surprise: oil squirted all over Magica. Launchpad was hoping she lose her grip and fall.

Magica did lose her grip and slid off the broomstick, but it didn't do any good. Magica was prepared for this and floated in mid-air.

"You don't need the broomstick to fly? Then why do you use the broomstick?" Launchpad asked.

"I can't fly as fast or as far without it. IT never gets tired. So your little tricks did you no good." Magica said.

"I don't know about that, Donald's helicopter got a safe distance away while I kept you busy." Launchpad said.

Magica spun around. Donald's copter was long gone.

Now, Magica did NOT totally forget that she was there to destroy the dam so she could easier steal the Lucky Dime. Magica kept aiming Magic Bolts at the dam whenever she could, despite my Launchpad's best efforts to keep her busy.

So Gizmoduck had his hands full. He has added a shield-like metal mirror that unfolds like a fan. Giz used the shield-mirror to reflect her bolts away from the dam and away from the Flying McQuacks.

Giz also had to help the Flying McQuacks (especially Birdie and Loopie) as they worked feverishly to fix the dam, those girders and boulders and even the wooden truck crosspieces were heavy.

Even Ripcord needed some help every now and again, although Giz had to be discreet about it. (GUYS! SHEESH!)

"Let me help you steady that- all this water makes the metal slipperly." Giz would say.

So despite the fact that Giz was itching to get into the fight against Magica- there was no way he could.

Meanwhile, Launchpad put the plane into autopilot. (7) Launchpad then lassoed Magica's broomstick, and cleaned off the oil. Then he hopped on the broomstick and to Magica's astonishment, he made the fool thing fly!

"Harry Potter, eat your heart out! Hey, look at me, I'm a wizard!" Launchpad said.

"WHAT? How can you get my broomstick to fly?" Magica screamed.

"I TOLD you, the Sky's my element. We McQuacks have been flying airplanes since the Wright Bros. and we were mucking around with balloons and dirigibles before that." Launchpad said.

"But- you would have been practically hatched in the air to fly my broomstick!" Magica hollered.

" I practically was! I started tagging along with my parents while they flew from air show to air show when I was three!" Launchpad said.

And using a rope, he lassoed Magica's wand and TRIED to use it. Nothing. He could not make it work.

"Hah! Not much of a wizard are you now, little big man? You can't use my wand!" Magica said.

"Maybe not, but as long as I have it, neither can you!" Launchpad said.

And Launchpad tucked the wand under his shirt and zipped his leather jacket all the way up.

'GIVE ME BACK MY WAND! OR I'LL DESTROY ALL OF DUCKBURG!' Magica yelled.

"Can you DO that without the wand?" Launchpad asked, hoping to God she couldn't.

" I can destroy the dam- and melt the ALL the snow upstream from here. All that water will drown Duckburg!" Magica yelled.

"What if we make a deal? If you swear on your witch's honor to go home and leave the Duckberg Dam alone FOREVER- just the dam. I'm not asking you to promise to leave the Money Bin alone, I know you don't have that much sense. THEN, I'll give you your wand back. And the broomstick." Launchpad offered.

"You think my word is worth something to me?" Magica sneered.

"Your honor as a witch should be worth something to you. Other witches will hear of it, if you go back on your word, even to a mortal." Launchpad said.

"True. And you did manage to make my broomstick fly and capture my wand. Either you have a little witch blood in you, or you're smarter than you look." Magica said.

"No witch blood that I know of. I have the sky in my blood, that's all. Do we have a deal?" Launchpad asked.

" I could make another wand. And another broomstick" Magica weembled.

Then Launchpad saw something: several planes approaching with the all-too-familiar "G" symbol on them.

"Oh, great! Now Flintheart Glomgold's getting in the act!" Launchpad said.

"That's right. I sensed his planes approaching and I stalled YOU for time!" Magica clucked, gleefully.

But not for long. Flintheart's planes starting firing at MAGICA!

"Hey! Why are you firing at ME for? You're EVIL- just like me!" Magica screamed

"True, you old hag. But I also LIVE in Duckburg. It's my HOME. If you destroy that dam, most of my businesses will also be destroyed. Much as I hate Scrooge, I don't hate him enough to see my home and my businesses destroyed just to destroy his home and his businesses." Flintheart said.

Magica used her magic to snare Lauchpad's VTOL and she TRIED to fly it. BUT-

"All these buttons, knobs, dials- how does anybody learn to fly this thing? How do they remember which control does what? What happens if you press the wrong one?" Magica asked.

She could not figure out how to make it go and it was too complicated for her Magic to control it.

Meanwhile:

"What do you say, Fly Boy? Are you willing to work with me? Donald sent out an SOS for help and I picked it up. I was tempted to let Duckburg and Scroogie stew in their own juice- but I built too many businesses here and I've lived here for too long. This is MY home, too." Flintheart said.

"If Mr. McD could work with you, so can I. If you can forgive me for taking that job flying that advertising sign for you to spy on you.(8) Just one small request: knock off the "Fly Boy" bit already, will you? I HAVE a name, it's LAUNCHPAD, USE IT!" Launchpad said.

"No need to get sore- we're on the same side- for now." Flintheart said.

"As long as I don't have to like you. Or trust you terrible far." Launchpad said.

"That goes double for ME!" said Mr. McDuck.

He was inside an army surplus tank that he normally uses to guard the bin. Duckworth was driving silly thing, Mr. McD was manning (or is that "ducking"?) the guns.

"Sorry it took me so long to get here, it wasn't easy getting this thing out of the Money Bin and on to the highway." Mr. McDuck said.

As if on cue, the Navy's river gunboats Donald's SOS was MEANT for arrived. Magica found herself a clay pigeon.

"Well? Will you give me your witch's oath to leave the Duckburg dam alone forever if I give you back your wand and broomstick NOW?" Launchpad asked.

"OK, OK- I know when I'm licked. But I'll be back!" Magica said.

So Magica gave him back the VTOL and Launchpad gave her back her broom. AFTER he was aboard the VTOL, Launchpad gave her back her wand:

"If you knew when you were licked, you'ld forget about the Lucky Dime!" Launchpad yelled after her.

**The End.**

* * *

(1) The first hurricane of the season has a name starting with "A", the second with "B". As far as I know, they've never gotten to "Z".

(2) That's a Vertical Take Off and Landing craft- it takes off like a helicopter and flies like a plane.

(3) Yes, this is MY take of events in "Armstrong", too- of course the rockslide bent and twisted the railroad tracks and there was nothing Launchpad could do about that and Armstrong could.

Pardon if I think Disney underestimates Launchpad's IQ. Pardon me if I also think we are too reliant on technology, on gizmos and gadgets. It has made us sheep.

And excuse me for pointing this out, but the mythical average person, including me, has no more idea of how technology works than how magic works. It can't be healthy, to be so dependent on something and have so little clue on how it works.

(4)Thanks to LuckyDuck29 for this suggestion. I was wondering what to do with this story next.

(5) Actually, I assume Magica would know Donald- heck, she's probably run into him at one point or the other...(in the original comic books, not the tv series) but I do not know where or when. Call this artistic license, I'm having them talk as if they never met because it speeds up the story and I don't know where or when they met.

(6)Launchpad had a lasso ready to rope Magica into his VTOL, IF she had fallen.

(7) UNLESS I AM VERY MUCH MISTAKEN, THE AUTOPILOT DOES NOT FLY THE PLANE BY ITSELF. IT JUST KEEPS THE PLANE ON THE COURSE THE PILOT HAS SET. IT CANNOT CHANGE COURSE IF NEED BE.

(8) That's MY take on events in "Robot Robbers": Launchpad took that job towing that ad for Flinty so that Launchpad could fly around the construction site all day and find out what Flinty was up to and have Flinty PAY him for it. Flinty fired Launchpad once he realized what Launchpad was up to.


End file.
